Planned Parenthood of Western Washington Continues to Mislead Patients and Public

By Jonathan B.
Have you wondered how many abortion clinics Planned Parenthood operates in Western Washington?

Well, if you go to their website, you would arrive at a total of 23, in other words, every single one of their western Washington clinics. Each of their 23 clinics in Western Washington includes “Abortion Services” in their list of “Services Included”.

Take the Issaquah location, for example. PPWW spokesman Brian Cutler, however, told the Issaquah News in February of 2008 that they do not do abortions there, neither dismemberment/surgical nor chemical (RU-486). AIW contacted PPWW’s Bill Fairchild, Director of Marketing. Mr. Fairchlid confirmed that Mr. Cutler was correct, no abortions are done in Issaquah – yet. (It's interesting to note that Brian Cutler also told the Issaquah News that PPWW had people "counter protesting" in support of the Issaquah Planned Parenthood every day that the 40 Days for Life Campaign had people outside praying. His assertion is blatantly false.)

But why, we asked, does the clinic website include “Abortion Services”? Mr. Fairchild said it was because that clinic “offers referrals to other clinics” which kill unborn children. That’s all he was willing to say about it. There are many problems with this explanation.

Last year, for instance, when we asked why the listing on the PP website for their (now defunct) Longview clinic listed “Abortion Services”, the answer provided by an unnamed PP spokesman was not “because they can provide referrals” – which they of course could; rather, the spokesman said this listing was “a mistake” resulting from an overhaul of the website. (Interestingly, this “mistake” went uncorrected for over a year after its acknowledgment.)

After a single voicemail from Mr. Fairchild containing the information quote above, numerous subsequent attempts to get follow-up questions answered – by voice and by email – have failed. It seems Mr. Fairchild doesn’t want to talk about this policy of deliberately creating the false impression that every single one of their clinics does abortions.

We wanted to ask how listing a service as available at a certain location when what’s really available is just a referral is not false advertising. Obviously every clinic can provide referrals to any other clinic, so each clinic could list all services offered anywhere, thus making individual clinic service listings meaningless.

Why, Mr. Fairchild, don’t you list “Lasik Vision Correction” also? You can provide referrals for that too?

Interestingly, this policy only seems to be in effect with PP of Western Washington. Other PP affiliates in the state – PP of Central Washington, for example – do not list “Abortion Services” at every single location – even though they could provide referrals to their other abortuaries.

Mr. Fairchild’s explanation doesn’t seem to hold water. Perhaps that’s why he refuses to talk to us anymore. It’s interesting that a health contractor of the state is permitted to operate in this manner – using false advertising, and then refusing to answer questions about it.

We know PPWW reads this blog. We would welcome an explanation of this policy of yours.